Stephen Strasburg struck out nine batters and allowed one run over six innings, but also suffered his first major league defeat as the Washington Nationals lost 1-0 to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. On the last better he faced, Strasburg (2-1) got his 41st strikeout. That broke a record held by Herb Score, who fanned 40 in his first four major league starts for Cleveland in 1955. For the third time in four starts, Strasburg did not walk a batter. He lowered his ERA to 1.78 but allowed nine hits. Rockies 8, Red Sox 6: At Denver, pinch-hitter Jason Giambi's two-run homer off Jonathan Papelbon capped a three-run rally in the ninth inning to help Colorado edge Boston. Giambi sent a 1-0 pitch into the right-field seats. Ian Stewart had tied it at 6 with a leadoff drive against Papelbon (2-4), who blew his second save in 18 chances. Giambi's shot was just the second homer by a lefty batter off Papelbon all year. Manny Corpas (2-4) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Ace Ubaldo Jimenez, who was seeking his 14th win, was staked to an early four-run lead, which seemed safe considering he hadn't allowed more than three runs in a start all season. But he gave up six runs and 10 hits over 5 2-3 innings against Boston in the worst game this season. Boston starter John Lackey allowed five runs and 10 hits in 6 2-3 innings. He had two hits off Jimenez after entering the game 1 for 31 at the plate in his major league career. Yankees 6, Diamondbacks 5, 10 innings: At Phoenix, Curtis Granderson led off the top of the 10th with a home run and Mariano Rivera got out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the bottom of the inning to give New York the victory over Arizona. Alex Rodriguez's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning tied the game at 5. Granderson greeted Carlos Rosa (0-2), the Diamondbacks' fifth reliever, with a towering home run to right field. Rivera (1-1), in his first two-inning appearance of the season, loaded the bases only to get Chris Young to foul out to the catcher, Adam LaRoche to pop up to third and Mark Reynolds to strike out. The Yankees increased their AL East lead to 2½ games because Boston and Tampa Bay lost to NL West foes. Mariners 8, Cubs 1: At Seattle, Cliff Lee struck out nine in his second consecutive complete game as Seattle defeated Chicago. Rookie Michael Saunders homered and drove in four runs for Seattle. Ichiro Suzuki had a two-run single. Lee (6-3) allowed nine hits and walked none in his American League-best fourth complete game this season and 17th for his career. He lowered his ERA to an AL-best 2.39. The 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner has 76 strikeouts against just four walks this season, an unheard of ratio of 19-to-1. Only one starter since 1901 has had a double-digit figure in that ratio over an entire season: Bret Saberhagen, who struck out 143 and walked 13 for Kansas City in 1994. Reds 3, Athletics 0: At Oakland, California, Johnny Cueto pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning, and Jay Bruce had a two-run single in his second straight three-hit game as Cincinnati swept the series against Oakland. In other matches it was: Marlins 7, Orioles 5: At Baltimore, Edwin Rodrigue; Cardinals 1, Blue Jays 0; Mets 5, Tigers 0; Angels 2, Dodgers 1; Padres 5, Rays 4; Phillies 7, Indians 6; White Sox 4, Braves 2; Rangers 13, Pirates 3; Brewers 5, Twins 3. National League Astros 6, Giants 3: At Houston, Brett Myers pitched seven effective innings and Jeff Keppinger had three RBIs as Houston snapped a five-game losing streak. – ReutersMyers (5-5) allowed three runs, one earned, and six hits. He also had two hits and drove in a run. It was the shortest outing of the year for Giants starter Barry Zito (7-4), who yielded five runs and seven hits in four innings.
